Vanderbilt Plays Aggressive Down the Stretch, Pulls Away From Georgia on Senior Day – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE – There was a sense of shock and disbelief around Memorial Gymnasium as Georgia guard Blue Cain hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 62 apiece. A game that Vanderbilt had led 37-17 in turned into a win the Commodores had to work for the final nine minutes of the game.
The reaction of Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington and his players was not one of shock and panic. But rather the Commodores stayed calm, stayed in the moment and turned their focus to the remainder of the game and figuring out how to survive what could have been a scare.
“The game is a game of runs. They’re going to make shots, we’re going to make shots. We just have to keep our composure and just know that we need a big stop and carry it over to the offensive end. We know everything will take care of itself,” Miles said of the mentality of the team and how it was able to regroup after the Bulldogs tied the game.
The mentality of the players was poured out onto the court. Though Georgia kept the game in striking distance until there was about three minutes left in the game. The Commodores held Georgia’s offense the final 4:30 of the game, not allowing the Bulldogs to hit a shot from that point on.
But it was what Vanderbilt did offensively that helped it pull away to a 88-80 win and survive what would have been a Senior Day upset: attacking the basket.
The aggressiveness of Vanderbilt on the offensive end paid dividends as it felt like the Commodores drew a foul on just about every drive to the basket. In total, Vanderbilt was fouled 14 times in the second half and it resulted in 15 free throw attempts.
Of the 15 attempts, nine of them came in the final 3:37 of the game. At that time, Vanderbilt was up just 77-75. It was still a game in which either team could have won. But because of Vanderbilt’s strategy of going to the basket, it was able to generate plenty of offense to escape.
That strategy was in part because of Vanderbilt’s veteran leadership from Duke Miles. Miles had a feel for the game, knowing the foul count would be high. So why not go to the basket often?
“I kind of told the guys, when the foul count is high we don’t have to be so aggressive getting the ball because we know they’re going to be antsy and grabby, so whenever they put hands on us, let’s try to get to the line and let’s take it downhill,” Miles said.
Taking it downhill is exactly what Vanderbilt did. The Commodores drew fouls consistently down the stretch after Vanderbilt entered the bonus with under seven minutes to play. Drawing a foul per minute for the final seven minutes is what helped get Vanderbilt to victory. That is a testament to Vanderbilt’s aggressive nature and point of emphasis originated from Miles in the huddle.
It was more than just Miles that took the point of emphasis to heart. Tyler Tanner, AK Okereke and Tyler Nickel all found their way to the free throw line. The three combined for 12 of the team’s 15 free throw attempts in the second half.
“It was a physical game and with Tyler Tanner being so quick, a lot of times the only way to stop him is to put two hands on him. I think he got there a couple times. AK was really aggressive. I thought it was one of his best games. I loved his mentality in this game. Tyler Nickel got there,” Byington said.
Vanderbilt’s ability to close the game out all stemmed from its refusal to panic after coughing up a 20-point lead. To a point, that is a glimpse into the character of the team. The team may bend at times, but there is no break and there is no quit in Vanderbilt.
“We missed two front ends on one-and-ones and you’re sitting there and they’re making incredible threes. Like ‘hey, we’re going to have to do something to turn this thing around.’ And the guys just never wavered. So bad things happened, but we figured it out,” Byington said.
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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